April 2017
Common sense says that we don’t use our mobile phone when
we cross the street. But why are people still doing it? Don’t they have this
common sense of danger?
Why is there the need for MTR to make public announcement
telling passengers not to look at their mobile phone when using the
escalator? That is not the only “gentle reminder”. Others include beware
slippers get caught when standing on escalator, loosen clothing when in
compartment etc.
Obviously, what makes sense to some doesn’t mean so to
others. Besides, what constitutes the “common”? A dozen, a hundred or more
people? These people need to have the same history or same likes and dislikes
to make up “a mass”. Then they might share the same “common sense”.
This can explain why parents and their children,
employers and their staff, teachers and students cannot agree on their
respective “common sense”. They have to make deliberate effort to understand
the other party, accommodate differences and build ground for common
sense to be nurtured.
So next time before we make a comment using “common
sense” as the argument, we have to first establish if there is anything
in “common” .
